To address mental health needs of Rikers inmates, NY should examine state shortage of psychiatric hospital beds

Mayor de Blasio announces mental health reforms at Rikers Island without acknowledging social impact of hospital closings

People with mental health needs end up in jails and prisons, overwhelming law enforcement Amongst the Rikers Island reforms announced Thursday by Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City) was the allocation of $32.5 million to fund mental health and anti-violence efforts. The mayor cited as a cause of challenges at Rikers Island the large number of severely, mentally-ill inmates, who created problems that needed to be "dealt with at their root." However, public health advocates fault the state and city for allowing the closure of so many hospitals that used to treat people with mental health needs in a healthcare facility instead of allowing people with mental health needs get swept up in the city's dragnet of over-policing that then jails people with mental health needs at Rikers Island. “We stand ready to take legal action to compel long-overdue reforms at Rikers, if that becomes necessary to get the job done.” — U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara According to statistics reported in an investigation published last July by The New York Times, "Rikers now has about as many people with mental illnesses — roughly 4,000 of the 11,000 inmates — as all 24 psychiatric hospitals in New York State combined. They make up nearly 40 percent of the jail population, up from about 20 percent eight years ago." There is a shortage of public hospital beds for people with mental health needs, according to a study by the Treatment Advocacy Center. The study recommended that New York state would need to add over 4,300 hospital beds dedicated to people with psychiatric needs in order to meet minimum standards of care. In announcing reforms for Rikers Island, Mayor de Blasio never raised the issue of the lack of capacity to provide people with mental health needs minimum standards of care to prevent people with mental health needs from getting swept up in the city's dragnet of over-policing.

RELATED Mayor de Blasio promised to get to the root of unsafe conditions at Rikers Island, but he overlooks high social cost of hospital closings (Progress Queens)

OTB : One Term Bill

In Far Rockaway, Mayor de Blasio takes a beating

The Outerborough Mayor Neglects the Outerboroughs In Far Rockaway, the citizens are waking up to a de Blasio administration that uses the recovery efforts from Super Storm Sandy as cheap photo-ops. "City Hall wants congratulations when Build It Back hands out a few reimbursement checks or breaks ground on building a new home. We say, it’s about time." Mayor Bill de Blasio has denied long over-due infrastructure improvements to Far Rockaway -- everything from improved transportation, including a ferry, reconstruction aid after Sandy, economic development planning, and improvements to parks. The citizens are getting restless, and if the mayor fails to deliver on reforms and improvements, then the citizens are already talking about Mayor de Blasio being a one-term mayor.

RELATED EDITORIAL: Rockaway Might Need an OTB -- A One Term Bill de Blasio (The Rockaway Times)

SHAME : de Blasio mailer praises LICH closure

From the Demand A Hospital listserv

Dear All :

A deceptive astroturf mailer is being sent to Brooklyn residents formerly treated by Long Island College Hospital. The mailer praises the condo conversion deal that closed the hospital with plans to replace it with another "urgent care center on steroids."

LINK : De Blasio-allied group defends LICH deal to brownstone Brooklyn (Capital New York) : http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/07/8548261/de-blasio-allied-group-defends-lich-deal-brownstone-brooklyn

Shades of when Bll Rudin used an astroturf group called "Westside Healthcare Coalition" to send his own deceptive mailers about the inferior urgent care center to be operated by North Shore-LIJ/Lenox Hill at the old O'Toole Building that the community was being duped into accepting as a sub-par replacement for the full-service and Trauma Level I hospital that was St. Vincent's.

LINK : Westside Healthcare Coalition is a Lie (Scribd) : http://www.scribd.com/doc/52718885/West-Side-Healthcare-Coalition-is-a-Lie

The really shocking part of the deceptive LICH mailers being sent to Brooklyn residents is that the mailers are coming from the lobbying firm Berlin Rosen, which is Mayor Bill de Blasio's political arm in public relations.

Mayor de Blasio didn't save LICH, betraying his campaign promise to support "hospitals, not condos." Now, the mayor and his people want to spin a story about how the luxury condo conversion of another hospital is good for still yet another big name real estate developer, this time the Fortis Property Group.

Shame !!!!!

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Tell Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals. Call 311 for the mayor and 1 (518) 474-8390 for the governor.

You can also tweet your concerns to : @BilldeBlasio -and- @NYGovCuomo

Healthcare workers plan protest against healthcare and jobs cuts Wednesday on Staten Island

Nurses and caregivers will picket at Staten Island hospitals on Wednesday

RELATED Nurses and caregivers will picket at Staten Island hospitals on Wednesday (Staten Island Live) NY WFP, on the brink of doing the right thing, apparently folds to Cuomo (Daily Kos)

On Wednesday, healthcare workers are promising to protest healthcare and job cuts being imposed by the chief executive officers of various New York City-area healthcare corporations, according to a report in Staten Isalnd Live. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Thousands of nurses and caregivers -- including many at Staten Island University Hospital and Richmond University Medical Center -- will be holding protests for quality care and good jobs at over 100 facilities throughout the New York City area. The "informational picket lines" at hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other facilities mark the launch of an effort to educate patients and the public about healthcare CEOs "who are severely threatening the quality of healthcare services and jobs for New Yorkers," said 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents over 250,000 healthcare workers in New York State, and more than 400,000 total members throughout the East Coast, in a written statement. It's unknown what impact the protests and pickets will accomplish. Even as 1199 protests the job losses and healthcare cuts by healthcare CEO's, note that 1199 helped to strong-arm the Working Families Party to endorse the re-election campaign of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose very own Medicaid Redesign Team implimented large-scale healthcare cuts, including the outsourcing to Stephen Berger the effort to keep closing city hospitals that have resulted in still yet further healthcare union job losses, not including the negative impact to public health.

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Demand A Hospital : NYTimes LICH Report Back

From Demand A Hospital :

Dear All :

Two articles of interest to many :

(i) For de Blasio, Deals, Drama and (Maybe) Progress (The New York Times)

On Tuesday, activists gathered in Borough Hall to grieve over the fate of Long Island College Hospital, which is to be converted into a condominium site with some sort of health care facility, though it is uncertain how much of one. The hospital effectively closed last month, leaving residents in surrounding areas worried about curtailed services, in particular the prospect of waiting a dangerously long time for an ambulance. On May 31, a man in Red Hook did die after what was reported to be a long wait, and though it was unclear whether a direct connection existed, the episode served as a dramatic confirmation of the community’s apprehension.

That a certain amount of anger over the hospital is now directed at Bill de Blasio is hardly surprising, given how much theater he mined from his efforts to save it during the mayoral race last summer, at one point even getting arrested during a protest. Although the mayor’s office has been working to bring the state university system, which owns the hospital, developers and community members to an accord and thus preserve health care, the sense that Mr. de Blasio exploited the issue, declared victory in the face of a loss and then moved on has clearly taken hold.

LINK : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/nyregion/for-de-blasio-deals-drama-and-maybe-progress.html

(ii) New York City Street Homelessness Rises 6% (The Wall Street Journal)

At a City Council hearing on Friday, several council members urged Mr. de Blasio’s budget director, Dean Fuleihan, to increase city resources to prevent homelessness. Mr. de Blasio pledged during the campaign and since he has taken office to make reducing homelessness a top priority, but some advocates and elected officials have said they don’t believe the administration is doing enough.

LINK : http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/06/06/new-york-city-street-homelessness-rises-6/

As Jay Kallio commented on The New York Times column, "Government only works when we remain vigilant, and continue the fight long after the election results are in. Start calling and demonstrating today. The job of civic engagement never ends."

Thank you for all that you do.

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Tell Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals. Call 311 for the mayor and 1 (518) 474-8390 for the governor.

You can also tweet your concerns to : @BilldeBlasio -and- @NYGovCuomo

Did BdB use LICH just to get elected ?

From Demand A Hospital :

Dear All :

Two hospital-related stories in the news this week :

BILL DE BLASIO BETRAYED HIS BELIEVERS IN COBBLE HILL, BROOKLYN
By : Liza Featherstone, amNewYork

There are signs de Blasio is willing to fight for ordinary New Yorkers. Additional paid sick leave and universal pre-K are nothing to dismiss. But when the interests of ordinary New Yorkers conflict with those of the real estate industry, which donated heavily to de Blasio's campaign, is Mayor 99 Percent setting aside his protest placards? Many in Cobble Hill think so.

LINK : http://www.amny.com/opinion/columnists/liza-featherstone/bill-de-blasio-betrayed-his-believers-in-cobble-hill-liza-featherstone-1.8348173

NYC'S TOP NONPROFIT HOSPITALS SPEND LITTLE ON CARE FOR THE UNINSURED
By : Tara Palmeri, The New York Post

Lenox Hill Hospital — which boasts a luxury maternity wing that has catered to celebrities such as Beyoncé — was among the stingiest of the group, according to the records. While it took in revenue totaling $744.8 million in 2012, it administered just $4.12 million — or 0.57 percent — in free care, according to the data.

Michael Dowling, the president of North Shore-LIJ Health System, which oversees Lenox Hill and 15 other area hospitals, earned well over half of what was paid out in free aid that year ($2.83 million).

LINK : http://nypost.com/2014/06/02/nycs-top-nonprofit-hospitals-spend-little-on-care-for-uninsured/

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Tell Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals. Call 311 for the mayor and 1 (518) 474-8390 for the governor.

You can also tweet your concerns to : @BilldeBlasio -and- @NYGovCuomo

Bill de Blasio Hospital Closings Flyer

The wave of hospital closings continue into the de Blasio-Mark-Viverito administration from the Bloomberg-Quinn administration, because lying, cheating politicians, first promise to meet community demands to save our hospitals, but then turn out to fail to live up to their campaign promises.

2014-05-22 Bill de Blasio Hospital Closings Flyer by Connaissable

Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin Community Betrayal ?

Has Mayor de Blasio turned his back on the community demand for a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's ?

Bill Rudin is one of the most corrupt real estate developers in New York City. He is the one, who basically foreclosed on St. Vincent's Hospital. He and his family paid off former Council Speaker Christine Quinn with $30,000 in campaign donations to look the other way. Has Bill Rudin found a way to pay off Mayor Bill de Blasio, too ?

• RELATED : Bill de Blasio may not like the condos Rudin Management is building in place of the old St. Vincent's Hospital, but that hasn't impacted his relationship with the developer's former lobbyist, James Capalino. (A former Rudin lobbyist volunteers for Bill de Blasio * Capital New York)
• RELATED : Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by an Association for a Better New York power breakfast to pay respect to one his key real estate development supporters, Bill Rudin. (Mayor de Blasio Makes Surprise Stop at Bill Rudin's ABNY Power Breakfast * The New York Observer)

From the Demand A Hospital listserv :

Dear All :

Last year, Bill de Blasio demonstrated outside the construction site for the $1 billion Rudin luxury condo complex in order to burnish his appeal amongst the communities impacted by hospital closings. The theme of that protest was "Hospitals, Not Condos."

• LINK : Bill de Blasio to lead ‘Hospitals Not Condos’ rally at former St. Vincent’s site, with Belafonte, Sarandon, Cynthia Nixon, others (East Villager)

Furthermore, one of the NYC Is Not For Sale commercials that helped to elect Mayor de Blasio focused on the corrupt role of Bill Rudin's campaign donations to former Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

• LINK : New Super PAC ad blasts Christine Quinn for role in closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital (The New York Daily New)

But now that he's been elected, Mayor de Blasio is socializing with the very same corrupt real estate developer whose luxury condo conversion deal he once criticized.

• LINK : Bill Bratton, Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin at an April 3 gala. (Crains).

Does this mean that Mayor de Blasio has turned his back on the community's demand for a full service hospital to replace St. Vincent's ?

Thanks for all that you do.

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Tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals : 1 (518) 474-8390

You can also tweet your concerns to Gov. Cuomo at : @NYGovCuomo

Meet The De Blasios ; Or, Meet The Old, Inept Press ?

The Media Takes No Responsibility to Inform and No Shame For Failure to Do So ...

Now that the political realities, or impossibilities, are emerging for the expected next mayor, Bill de Blasio, the media is panicking about how little they were caught unawares of Mr. de Blasio's impending win. Like True News From Change has been pointing out, it was the media's job to vet Mr. de Blasio, and now, as the media worries about how Mr. de Blasio plans to translate his positions into actual government policy, the media forgets that it was they themselves, who gave Mr. de Blasio as pass during the primary election season.

"So which is Bill de Blasio, Sandinista or Clintonista, radical or clubhouse regular ? It’s a good question, particularly considering how vague he has been about so many things as a mayoral candidate." (Daily News Op-Ed via True News From Change)

... But Sal Albanese Calls Media Out

How the Media Lost the Race for Mayor. Bill de Blasio won the Democratic primary. Sal Albanese did not. But thanks to poor coverage of the race, the former councilman argues, New York's voters are the real losers.

No doubt, Mr. de Blasio has won the hearts of New Yorkers. If he lives up to expectations, I believe that he could make the five boroughs better for all of us. But "ifs" and "coulds" don't pick up the garbage or keep the city safe. We would be much better off if we knew what our next mayor had accomplished and really plans to do over the next four years. Unfortunately, the fourth estate has failed to provide that information.

Elections have consequences, and so does the way that we cover them. For the sake of our city's future, we must demand better. (Sal Albanese * City Limits)

Money in Politics. Despite Mr. de Blasio's claims that he was the true progressive in this year's mayoral Democratic primary, he's certainly embraced the role of money and lobbyists in electoral politics, an apparent contradiction of core progressive values. A spot financed by a pro-Bill de Blasio “super PAC” in the New York mayoral race charges that Joseph J. Lhota wants to help big corporations and developers. The campaign commercial will be broadcast in a $1 million media buy could be used by Mr. Lhota to suggest that Mr. de Blasio, who has spoken out against super PACs, is acting hypocritically by not renouncing their support. (The Ad Campaign : Group Backing de Blasio Tries to Shackle Lhota to Tea Party * The New York Times)

Money is King in NYC Mayoral Politics : Bill De Blasio Campaign Rakes in $3.7 Million http://t.co/ng3a0ddQcs

— Informed Voting (@informedvoting) October 25, 2013

All fluff and no substance. New York magazine is looking forward to the de Blasio family's holiday card. But then what ?

First look at the cover of next week's magazine: Meet the De Blasios pic.twitter.com/Si7AjnAYtg

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) October 25, 2013

Hospitals Still Face Chopping Block, Employees Keep Receiving Layoff Notices

Long Island College Hospital issued layoff notices to some 500 employees, effective Oct. 29. The majority of the workers are members of 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East and the New York State Nurses Association. (Brooklyn Hospital Lays Off 500 * Crain's)

Gov. Cuomo proposes to close three Brooklyn hospitals and replace them with a new hospital at an estimated cost of $1 billion. (New Brooklyn hospital proposed ; cost $1 billion ; would replace 3 existing hospitals * Crains)

Let Them Eat Cheesecake : Buying Creamy Pies While 500 LICH Employees Receive Layoff Notices

SUNY lays off 500 Long Island College Hospital employees @DownstateLICH @SUNY http://t.co/IVT23sLzn3 @deBlasioNYC @JoeLhota4Mayor

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) October 26, 2013

St. Vincent's Hospital. Healthcare activists are trying to pressure NBC 4, the host of the next mayoral debate, to ask hospital-related questions of the mayoral candidates. What do the candidates plan to do to save all of New York City's community hospitals ? Do the candidates have plans to replace the full-service hospitals that were closed under the Bloomberg-Quinn administration ?

How can Bill de Blasio stand up to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the hospital closing crisis ?

Healthcare activists question how Bill de Blasio will pressure #Gov1% to save hospitals if both stand at City Hall, holding hands in unity ?

— Stop Bill de Blasio (@StopdeBlasio) September 18, 2013

Only two months ago, mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio blasted Gov. Andrew Cuomo for not doing squat to save the community hospital closing crisis being brought about by Gov. Cuomo's political appointee, the Wall Street investment banker Stephen Berger. But now, Mr. de Blasio is holding hands with Gov. Cuomo in a show of "unity." Healthcare activists question how Mr. de Blasio will be able to pressure Gov. Cuomo to reverse course on hospital closings, if they how appear to have brokered political backroom deals to support each other in the election and reelection cycle ?

Will Bill de Blasio Fight For A New Hospital To Replace St. Vincent's ?

Bill de Blasio made campaign stops in front of the luxury condominium and townhouse complex that Rudin Management Company is constructing on the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital. These campaign stops were meant to highlight the healthcare injustice of the spree of hospital closings in New York City. Will Bill de Blasio lead the charge to call for a full-service hospital and Level I Trauma Center to replace St. Vincent's, or were all those campaign stops just exploitation of the issue to drum up votes ?

To get a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's, Bill de Blasio has to feel that he's *not* going to stride to an easy finish.

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) September 11, 2013

Instead, Bill de Blasio's going to put on a pair of skates and then take to the same thin sheet of ice that Quinn just got yanked off of.

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) September 11, 2013